Aunt Claudia Gets Ready to Diet...

Okay, It's been a lo-o-o-ng Holiday Season...and now it's time to start fresh in the New Year. Aunt Claudia gathers her thoughts and reviews the recent past...
Oh hold on to your hats - some of it ain't pretty!

Now how the heck is it that the first time back on those scales is so shocking? HOW much?!? Where did all those extra numbers come from? OMGosh!!

This thing must be broken!

Guess she will have to visit the Ghost of Recent Christmas Past ~

Uh-oh, this could get ugly!

But there's gotta be a reason this huge thing keeps following behind her,

Oomph! Everything is SUCH a struggle! Don't remember the window being this high!

and NOTHING seems to fit anymore!

I swear I could squeeze into this at Halloween - no, really!

So there were too many times of over-indulgence...

What? I heard it was good to the last drop!

...and a few too many sweets...

Hey, it was going to thrown away! Waste not want not I always say!

..and maybe a wee too much wine!

It helps me sleep better! Realllly!

Seems that her diet got overloaded with carbs ~

Those carbs just seem to trap me up!

~ and she never got enough exercise!

I told you, the wine reallly helps me sleep!

Trapped! In a cycle of bad habits and poor diet! What can a girl do?

I gotta get outta here! Help!

Now she's just plain MAD at herself !

Boy, am I MAD!! Spittin' mad!!

But there's a solution - she needs to make a deal with herself and get on with it ~

to be continued...

(c) CHRobinson - January 2011

Family Treasures

Here are some very special family treasures! Might not seem like anything grand to others, but to me, they are PRICELESS!!!

I was making a cherry pie this morning and got out Esther's old pie tins. She had these from the 1950's and they show signs of thousands of uses! If you could see a close-up of the bottoms you would see all the lines where some delicious dessert was cut into portions. The crimping on the side of one tin has broken. There is baked on goodness from many years past!
I can't imagine how many pies have been baked in these tins over the years. They now live in my kitchen, along with the old biscuit cutter and the stainless steel serving spoon.

I wish these could talk - think of the stories they could tell!
Esther was just an okay daily cook. But, Boy! could she bake! And with seven boys and then all their families she put those skills to good use!


When Esther's house was cleaned out after her passing, these were the treasures that I wanted to focus on. They are a reminder of how much she cared for her family. They baked many a sweet treat "just because." They hold memories of many holiday and birthday celebrations. They really spoke of the woman she was!

So here is my cherry pie in the making and I hope it lives up to the family legacy! Nothing could ever replace these special family treasures...

Thanks, Mom! We love you and miss you!

Ingredients for the cherry pie.

Top cut with Fall leaves and ready for the oven.

Bubbly goodness an hour later - I think that means it will be juicy!

Ewwww...

Now I know there is a lot of unseen things that occur in restaurants that would make us all say "Ewwww!" But saw something this morning that will make me think twice about asking for the Tabasco bottle...



Across from us was a young man, maybe 12 or 13 sitting with his family. He seemed like a typical teen boy and was cutting up; which caused mom to admonish him and dad to grin delightfully. When their food was brought to the table, the server also placed bottles of ketchup and Tabasco for their use. The young boy took the top off the Tabasco, put it to his lips and took a swig! Mom was digusted and dad actually started giggling. Just the effect he was hoping for, I'm sure!

Of course I had an entirely different thought - OMG! What if someone had done the same thing thing to the Tabasco bottle we had just applied to our breakfast plates?!? GROSS, GROSS, GROSS!

A couple of years ago we had a similar experience with a ketchup bottle in a restaraunt. A man at a nearby table was having difficulty getting the ketchup to flow out. So he poured a bit a water from his water glass into the ketchup and shook it up! Something we all do at home but...

IN A PUBLIC EATERY?!?

Um, um, makes you want to go out for a meal right now, doesn't it? Aren't you glad I shared this random thought....

The Star in the Cottonwood

Chateau de Mores

I have always loved trees and leaves...

While on our Montana trip this summer I heard a very interesting story about the Star in the Cottonwood.

We were visiting the Chateau de Mores in Medora, North Dakota. It was built by the Marquis de Mores for his wife and family in 1883 so he could pursue his ranching and cattle shipping enterprises. The existing community of Medora is named after his wife.

The house museum contains furniture and artifacts belonging to the family and their servants. It is operated by the State Historical Society of North Dakota. Several well informed guides walk you through the house and tell the story of both the family and the times.

Because I can't climb stairs very well, I was offered a seat downstairs to wait for my group to tour the upstairs. In front of me was a video screen with views of the rooms upstairs along with detailed descriptions. But best of all, the guide who stayed with me pointed out the "touch and learn" table at which I was seated! This was the one spot in the house where you were invited to touch and hold artifacts and items and I had an informed personal guide all to myself!

My eye was immediately drawn to a collection of cut branches. On closer examination, I noticed there was a small star in the center of each one! I asked the guide about it and heard a shortened story of the Native American legend regarding this little star. Back home, after a bit more research on the subject, I share with you the story of:

The Star in the Cottonwood.

Star in cut branch

There is a traditional Lakotah Native American story about how the stars in the night sky came from Mother Earth breathing wind into the Cottonwood tree. The stars all flew from the branches of the Cottonwood and took up their heavenly abode. But one curious little star came back to hide in a Cottonwood tree so it could always be near the people on earth and listen to their beautiful music, their laughter, and the kind words they say to one another.

Inside each cottonwood branch is indeed a little star. If you cut a 3/4" branch from a Cottonwood tree with a saw, you will find a little star in the center of that branch. Also, if you snap a cottonwood tree twig right on the growth lines, you can find a star hiding inside. You won’t see the star in every branch; if the twig is too green or too old, it won’t appear.

Heart-shaped Cottonwood leaves

The Cottonwood was known as "waga chan, the rustling tree." Any breeze at all makes the heart-shaped leaves twist and turn on their stem creating a glimmering effect and a rustling sound. These Cottonwoods provided them with large logs for their dugout canoes. The trees offered places to hunt and fish for food. The young branches and tender bark provided feed for the horses and medicine for the people. The large branches from the Cottonwoods were used for fires that kept them warm and cooked their food. Long slender poles of the Cottonwood were used to construct their shelters. Musical notes could be produced by cupping the leaves in the hand, amusing young and old alike. The Cottonwood was integral to all parts of their daily lives.

Lakota Warriors Gather

Cottonwood trees have many sacred associations with the Lakota, the most interesting being their use in the Sun Dance ceremony. The Cottonwood sticks were used to pierce a warrior's skin and muscles in the Sun Dance ceremony. The Cottonwood was chosen because of the five-pointed star in cross-section. In effect, they contain a sign from the star nations inside it…. The Cottonwood tree honored for use in the ceremony had to be tall, straight, and slender, with a small fork near the top. After the tree was selected and cut down it was to remain untouched by human hands until it was blessed for ceremonial use by the Medicine Man, for it was sacred.

We also met a Native American named "Max" at the Glendive RV Camp where we stayed. He was a remarkably spiritual man who has amassed an amazing collection of artifacts from battlegrounds and encampments in and around Little Big Horn, Spring Creek Battle areas and Glendive. He also has showcased several items from his own family heritage. Pieces of Cottonwood used in both his own and his grandfather's Sun Dance Ceremony were displayed in his collection. Knowing a little more about the Star in the Cottonwood made that display even more intriguing!


Cottonwood seeds

Female Cottonwoods (cottonwoods are either male or female) produce fluffy white seeds during the early summer that are quickly dispersed by the wind. To find the tree in the summer that is blowing “cotton” all through the air awakes the child in you. It is easy to envision stars flying up into the sky! It’s amazing to think that these tiny, light seeds will grow into one of North America’s largest trees. During their 100 to 200 year growing period, Cottonwoods can grow up to 190-feet high and develop massive trunks over 5-feet in diameter. They generally grow very close to water, a fact that was used by pioneers and explorers to locate water as they crossed the plains.


Cottonwoods along river bank

Cottonwoods in the Fall

The Cottonwood trees change into beautiful colors in the Fall, turning pockets of the landscape many blazing points of red, orange and gold!

Wonderful stories hidden within one of nature's miracles; a simple, simply amazing Cottonwood tree!

(c) CHRobinson 2010

In Memory of Mom's Birthday

Just a quick note in memory of Mom...



This Wednesday would have been Esther's 88th birthday! She never liked anyone to make a fuss about the day, so this will be short.

She was a strong woman who raised seven wonderful, responsible men. This picture was taken the summer before she passed. She had been in the hospital and came to our house for a few weeks to recover. After this we got her settled in a retirement home, but she HATED it! She lived life just the way she wanted and insisted on going home, where she lived 'til the very last days on her own.

Esther visiting with two of her sons, Byron (l) and Bob (rt)

We think of her often and miss her a lot! Happy Birthday, Mom! We send our love!

(c) CH Robinson 8/2010

Through the Eyes of a Child

This Sunday, July 4th, will be my older daughter Tammy's birthday. To honor that, I would like to share this story of one of the important life lessons I learned from her:

It was a hot summer day and we were setting out to get our chores done. This included shopping; never my favorite task with a toddler who would rather be off playing. A normal hurried mom just getting through the day...

As I got Tammy out of the truck, I looked down and thought, "Oh gross! That sidewalk is pretty nasty! Someone needs to get out here with the steam cleaner. Don't they know how bad it looks?"
Gum and grease and spilled food and heaven knows what else?

Tammy started skipping off down the sidewalk, then stopped and was staring down. I thought she was seeing the same disgusting mess I saw...

But only through a child's eye - the vision was completely different! She exclaimed, "Oh mommy! Look how pretty!"

PRETTY?!?!

What in the world was she talking about? Certainly not this sidewalk! All I could see was the yuck and crud!

"Oh mommy, don't you think it looks like diamonds?"

DIAMONDS?!?!

But then I looked again. The sun was striking the pavement just right and all the little granite and mineral chips WERE shining bright! It did indeed look like diamonds sparkling in the afternoon!

I was reminded to stop and take a minute to look at the world through her eyes.

So full of trust and innocence that she saw only the beauty. No hurried tasks to accomplish. No "To Do" lists to check off. Just seeing all the wonders of God's world.

I think I appreciate this even more as a grandmother.

May I remember to step back and appreciate the blessings each day brings.

And may I try to see things -

Through the Eyes of a Child

Amen

Happy Birthday to my beautiful daughter who is a great mom to her own two girls! And by being her mom, I thank her, and the Lord for the life lessons...

People were also bringing babies to Jesus to have him touch them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them. But Jesus called the children to him and said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."
Luke 18:15-17

(c) CHRobinson June 2010

Knothole in the Family Tree

Here is some interesting family history, a bit on the shady side...I've waited what I hope has been a respectful amount of time since Esther's passing to continue the story of her mother, Mary.

After Esther had been born, Mary left her infant in the care of her in-laws, got a divorce and hit the road with some questionable characters.
Hey, the divorce alone was scandalous enough in the day!


One of those questionable characters was Eber "Sid" Siddons. I must say, I'm not certain if this is fact or fable; but it has been reported from reliable sources and family tales that he ran a very profitable bootleg whiskey operation!

To get his product into the little communities without too much trouble, two things were of utmost importance:
1) Know who the local authorities were and know their routines.

2) Have some really fast cars capable of transporting the whiskey!

Now Mary was a very attractive young lady! She was sent into the town first to find a "camp." Motorcourts would have been perfect. These were small roadside bungalows with parking right alongside.

She would then get acquainted with the police and spend enough time to get them talking. It was never said right out loud, but it was implied that she would use her "feminine wiles" ...

Then Sid and his fellows could come in with the merchandise he was bootlegging.

Seems he made enough money from this setup he purchased a car dealership and made an honest woman of Mary. They married and brought Esther with them to the Rapid City area. Mary got to live with all the extras she loved and have her daughter with her, too!

So goes this branch of the family tree...a few twists and knotholes. Interesting, to say the least!

Here is a picture we took last summer of the garage he owned in Belle Fourche, SD.

(c) CHRobinson June 2010